St. Louis (May 9, 2005) — With an eye toward companies that have the vision and creativity to help design and build the hospital of the future, SSM Health Care-St. Louis this week announced its choices for architects, engineers, construction managers and environmental consultants for its new state-of-the-art hospital at Bowles Avenue and Highway 141 near Fenton.

Hammel, Green and Abrahamson (HGA) of Milwaukee, Wisc., partnered with Mackey Mitchell Associates of St. Louis, have been chosen as architects for the project. KJWW Engineering Consultants of St. Louis are the engineers. The construction managers are Alberici Healthcare Constructors, also of St. Louis. TSi Engineering Inc. of St. Louis was chosen to serve as the environmental consultants.

SSM Health Care-St. Louis in April received approval from the State of Missouri to replace SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood with a $215 million health care campus in southwest St. Louis County. The 158-bed hospital, which will open in the spring of 2008, will be part of a 54-acre health care campus on what is now Lakewood Golf Course, just south of I-44. The hospital will feature the latest clinical technology and information systems to support a full range of services, including a 24-hour emergency department and comprehensive medical/surgical services such as heart, cancer, orthopedics and women’s services.

“The primary attribute we are seeking with all of our partners in this new hospital project is the willingness to break out of the norm – to think of new and better ways of delivering health care to our patients,” said Bob Porter, executive vice president, strategy and business development for SSM Health Care-St. Louis, and leader of the new hospital project. “The best way to achieve that goal is by designing a hospital from the ground up that is unique – one that is human-centered while incorporating the latest technology to achieve breakthrough results. We believe our new partners can help us achieve this goal.”

HGA has consistently created forward-thinking design solutions for its clients and the communities they live in. Partnered with Mackey Mitchell Associates, the architect on the expansion of SSM St. Mary's Health Center’s Emergency Department and Heart Center, HGA is already actively engaged in the new hospital’s design process.

KJWW Engineering Consultants provides comprehensive structural, mechanical, electrical, and technology engineering services to healthcare, educational, corporate, government, community, arts and industrial clients. KJWW is a Top 500 Design Firm and ranked among the Top 50 M/E engineering firms in the United States.

Alberici has constructed a number of SSM Health Care projects over the last 20 years including St. Joseph Hospital West built in 1984 on a greenfield site in Lake St. Louis. Most recently, Alberici completed a major renovation at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital and in 2003 finished the new St. Joseph Medical Park, an ambulatory care facility in St. Peters, Mo.

TSi Engineering, Inc., an M/W/DBE firm, is a specialized 25-person engineering practice providing geotechnical and environmental engineering to institutional, government and commercial clients.

In addition to the new hospital, the health care campus also will include an outpatient care center offering convenient one-stop service, and a medical office building.

“This new hospital and health care campus will continue SSM Health Care’s strong history of service and mission in the St. Louis region to deliver exceptional health care services,” said Ron Levy, president and CEO, SSM Health Care-St. Louis. “We believe our new partners share our passion for quality and commitment to excellence, and we look forward to working closely with them for the next three years.”

About SSM Health Care

With 7 hospitals, nearly 2,000 staff physicians and 8,600 employees, SSM Health Care-St. Louis is committed to serving the comprehensive health needs of St. Louis area residents. Sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters of Mary, the health care network includes SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital, SSM DePaul Health Center, SSM St. Joseph Health Center, SSM St. Joseph Hospital West, SSM St. Joseph Hospital of Kirkwood, SSM St. Mary's Health Center and SSM Rehab, plus three medical groups: SSM St. Charles Clinic Medical Group, SSM Medical Group and SSM DePaul Medical Group.

Its parent organization, SSM Health Care, also based in St. Louis, in 2002 became the first health care recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The system owns, operates and manages hospitals and nursing homes in four states: Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin,and Oklahoma.